Broken but still a Family
by Greenleaf1493
Summary: Various one-shots about the Avengers as a family before, during and after the Accords.
1. Chapter 1

**One-shot #1**

Steve and Natasha sat on a couch in front of the fireplace. They were quiet, Ross had just left after letting them know about the Sokovia Accords. Wanda was in her room, still affected by what had happened in Lagos. Sam, Vision and Rhodey had gone their separate ways as had Tony after they'd discussed what Ross proposed.

"So, what are we going to do?" Natasha asked breaking the silence between them.

Steve looked at her, really seeing her for what first like the first time that afternoon, "I don't know. I thought you agreed with Stark."

"What he says makes sense. Steve you know the government is going to enforce whatever laws they want no matter what we think. Do you really want to go against this?"

"Nat, what do you want me to tell you? That I agree, that I'll sign that bloody paper? I don't think that's the solution, Nat."

The spy was about to respond when a scream was heard through the facility. The two of them didn't even think about it, knowing that Wanda was the one who was screaming. They ran to her room, uncaring of the fact that Wanda was more than capable of taking care of whatever might be threatening her.

Steve burst into her room, to find Wanda crying in the middle of her bed. Natasha moved swiftly to sit beside Wanda on the bed, her arms closing around the crying girl. Steve for his part swept the room for any threat and finding nothing moved to sit along with Nat on the bed next to Wanda.

"What's wrong malen'koye solnyshko?" Natasha asked her.

"Sorry," Wanda said through sobs, "I didn't mean to wake anyone."

"You didn't wake us, Wanda. We were still talking in the living room when we heard you. What's wrong?" He asked, smoothing his hand down her long hair.

"It was nothing, just a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Wanda shook her head, but answered anyway, "It was about Lagos. It was my fault."

The older Avengers looked at each other over the distraught girl's head, both hating to see her in tears.

"Wanda, look at me please," Steve said with a gentle voice. "What happened wasn't your fault. You didn't cause that explosion, Rumlow did that. You did your job, we saved people, true some still died but you prevented a worse outcome."

"Ross and the world don't seem to see it that way."

"Ross and the world don't know what it's like to do what we do. The government has an agenda and they want us to play into it, and we may have no other choice but to do that, just remember that what happened wasn't your fault. You didn't trigger the explosion, you tried to contain it. Rumlow is to blame, not you," Natasha told her softly.

Wanda hugged herself closer to Natasha and the spy tightened her arms around the 18 year old sorceress. Steve smiled at the two girls and covered them with a blanket before closing his arms around them both. Wanda fell asleep snuggled close to the two of them, lulled by the safety she felt there.

"They shouldn't be blaming her," Steve said.

Natasha sighed as she placed Wanda down on the pillows, "The world always blames us when things don't go the way they'd like them to go. This isn't the first time nor will it be the last."

"Yeah, well, maybe they should blame me too. I was there, I froze when Rumlow said Bucky's name…"

"Steve, the world finds it easy to place blame when they weren't there. Like you told her, this was Rumlow's fault."

Steve smiled sadly at her, as he once again ran his hand through Wanda's long hair, "I'll stay here with her. You can go rest."

Natasha laughed softly at his chivalry, "Nonsense, we'll both stay."

"Nat you need to rest," Steve protested.

"And so do you, but neither of us will, knowing that she's having nightmares. So let's stay here."

Steve shook his head, but didn't protest. Instead he grabbed Natasha and moved them both to a recliner by Wanda's bed. There he sat with the spy on his lap and spent the night watching over the dreams of the two female Avengers thinking about what the Sokovia Accords could mean for the little family they'd all built ever since they first Assembled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to MARVEL and DISNEY and Stan Lee. I'm just taking them out for a little walk in the park.**

 **One-shot #2**

Two months had passed since the first mention of the Sokovia Accords, two months since the Avengers had fought one another at an airfield. Two months since the members of Team Cap were captured and put in the Raft, a month and half since they'd been rescued from said prison and still some of them couldn't come to terms with what had happened.

Thanks to Steve—and Natasha who had found Steve in Wakanda—the members of Team Cap had regained their freedom though not their past lives. They were all fugitives and criminals in the eyes of the governments of the world. Clint's family had to leave their home and they were also residing in the suites that T'Challa had thoughtfully provided. Scott couldn't see his daughter for fear of his ex-wife giving him up to the authorities and Sam for the first time found himself on the wrong side of the law. But what possibly hurt them all most was the loss of what they'd managed to build, the loss of their family.

Wanda walked through the halls of the apartment she shared with Natasha and Steve wondering if things would ever be the same again. It would take a lot—she thought—for Tony to come to terms with what Cap had kept hidden from him, but it could happen. In the mean time, they all spent their days exploring the Wakandan countryside while Natasha and Steve worked on how to repeal the Accords. Thinking of Natasha made the only other female Avenger pause in her trek through the gardens—she knew Natasha had been tortured, that she'd had to escape but no one aside from Steve, and maybe Barton, knew exactly what she'd been through.

Wanda herself only knew because she shared a living space with the spy. The sorceress mused to herself that if it hadn't been for the occasional screaming coming from Natasha's room late at night, she would've never known the redhead had been tortured before meeting back up with their Captain. Natasha knew how to keep up a mask, and did that almost to perfection, but that mask would always disappear around Steve or Clint and Wanda had been witness to it enough times to know that the spy was not as emotionless as everyone thought her to be.

The truth was quite the opposite, and lately it had become increasingly apparent. Natasha's nightmares would come on nights she slept alone in her bed because Steve was away for some reason or another. And, although Wanda had tried to help, Natasha would always push her away. Last night had been just like that, Steve was with T'Challa and Clint on patrol deep in the jungle and far away from the palace and Natasha had woken up screaming. The young sorceress had tried to comfort the spy—whom she had come to see as an older sister of sorts—but Natasha had pushed her away. And now as she walked through T'Challa's gardens the young Sokovian girl wondered if Natasha did it because deep down she still didn't trust her.

"Hey," Natasha's voice came from behind her making Wanda jump slightly. The spy giggled, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Wanda smiled, "No harm done, I was just lost in thought."

"I could tell, I've been following you for a while now," Natasha said playfully. "Can we talk?"

"What do you wanna talk about?"

"Last night and pretty every other night when I've had bad dreams."

"Oh."

Natasha moved closer to the brunette, "Wanda," she sighed and bit her lip, a tell tale sign that she was nervous. "I'm sorry about pushing you away last night. I know you meant well, but talking isn't my strong suit. Not telling you about my nightmares has nothing to do with trusting or not trusting you in case you were wondering."

Wanda gaped, "How did you know?"

Natasha gave her a half smile, "I'm a spy, it's my job to know."

"What was your nightmare about last night? I know I'm not Steve and I'm not trying to be…"

"Good, because you don't have to be him. I confide in Steve and Clint because… well because Clint was the first ever person to trust me and other than him only Steve has ever trusted me in the same way. I've known them for so long, that it's just habit to unload with only them. Besides, you've got your own nightmares to work through and I don't want you to worry about me."

"I worry either way, Nat. It isn't easy to hear you cry yourself back to sleep on the nights Steve isn't here. I hate it. You, all of you, became my family—the only family I have left and I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Natasha smiled sadly at the younger girl and hugged her tight, "Wanda, I'm afraid things will take a long time to go back to how they were, if they ever do. I know you care about us, we care about you too. That's why I didn't want to tell you about my nightmares last night. You went through a lot in the Raft and it was in part my fault. I let them put you there. I'm the reason you had a shock collar around your neck, and I can't forgive myself for that. You trusted all of us and look where it got you."

Wanda shuddered at the mention of the electric collar, but she was resolved on setting Natasha straight, "That wasn't your fault. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to side with Cap. We all had a choice, we were free to make that choice, just like Ross was free to decide over what happened to all of us. He chose to put me in that collar—it wasn't something that you did. You helped Cap put an end to it while Tony just visited spouted some words and then left. You aren't responsible and neither is Steve."

"How can you say that? You've lost so much ever since you met us…"

"Pietro's death wasn't your fault, and I've got my freedom back. And as for losing, look at all that I've gained. I've got you and Cap looking over me, with occasional bad advice by Clint, I've got Laura and Cooper, Lila, and Nate. I have Sam to play music with and Scott to annoy me and for a time, I even had Vision who was as much an outsider as I felt. Would I want Pietro to still be here? Hell yes, but my life isn't so bad and I have you and Cap to thank for that."

Natasha frowned, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am."

Natasha smiled at the girl in front of her and hugged her again, her fears about Wanda resenting her for the part she played during the Civil War at rest.

The two were still hugging when strong arms wrapped around them both, and the familiar scent of Steve enveloped them in warmth, "I'm happy you think of us as family, Wanda."

Wanda smiled, "How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough."

The two girls giggled, "You're getting better at spying," Natasha complained.

"It was time, after all I've had three master spies teaching me their craft for long enough."

The three of them laughed at that—knowing that even now Fury was around somewhere still digging up intel to feed them through Maria and knowing that Hawkeye was somewhere inside the palace probably embarrassing his kids. It wasn't the life Wanda had envisioned for herself back when she and Pietro had escaped Hydra. And it was definitely not the life she thought she'd have after the death of her twin, but it was a life—a family and it was hers. And the girl—no the Avenger knew she would do anything to bring it back together and keep it that way. Tony might be hurt now, but family forgave everything and eventually they'd all be assembled once more.

AN:

 **Let me know what you thought in the reviews, and if this got emotional in the end it's because I was sad and it kind of influenced my writing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The Avengers still belong to MARVEL—if they were mine Romanogers would already be a thing.**

 **One-shot #3**

"You do know she isn't going to disappear, right?" Steve asked.

Tony chuckled, "It feels like she just might if I take my eyes away from her for even a second."

The _her_ they referred to was Nicole Stark, the newborn daughter of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. The baby girl had been born less than 48 hours before but she already had everyone at the Tower wrapped around all ten of her little fingers. Little Nicky was adorable with a round face, full cheeks and a tuft of strawberry blonde hair on her head, she was all her mother and Tony couldn't be happier.

"She won't, she lives in the most secure building in the world and her father is an Avenger," Steve assured Tony.

"You know her godfather is also an Avenger."

Steve grinned, "So you've finally chosen! Who's it gonna be? Bruce or Rhodey?"

"Neither," Tony said simply making Steve frown in confusion.

"I thought they were the top contenders. Who did you decide on then, Thor?"

"Nah, I thought she might need more of an old fashioned role model in her life. What do you say Capsicle, would you agree to being her godfather?"

Steve looked startled for a moment at Tony's question but then his expression changed. The super soldier was incredibly touched by the offer and it showed, "I'd be honored Tony, but are you sure?"

"Course I am, there's no one better for the role. I knew that from the beginning, _you've been_ her godfather since the beginning."

Steve smiled, "Thanks Tony."

"Ah, no need to thank me. I know you and Red will do a good job of raising her should anything happen to me or Pepper."

"You asked Natasha?"

"Pepper did. The two of them are close, you know that. Not as close as our favorite little spider and Maria Hill are but still close. It was logical."

Steve smiled again and moved closer to his goddaughter's crib, peering down at her sleeping form.

"I have nightmares about it, you know?" Tony's voice interrupted Steve's concentration.

"About what?"

"Her disappearing," came Tony's whisper. "I used to dream about it every night while we were fighting Thanos. I thought he'd hurt Pepper or take the baby to use her as bait. I knew I wasn't being logical, but…" he trailed off.

Steve's hand landed softly on Tony's shoulder in a comforting manner, "But we've lost enough that you couldn't get the thought out of your mind?"

"Can't get the thought out of my mind. I haven't told Pepper, but I'm terrified something will happen to her."

"Tony, I can't promise that nothing will ever happen to her, but I can promise to be there with you and Pepper, protecting her from everything I can."

"I know. I guess in a way I've always known, after what you did for Bucky we all understood just how loyal a friend you can be."

Steve inclined his head hiding a slight blush, "We're not just friends, Tony. We're a family and family's always there."

"Well when you put it like that, I guess as _family_ I can ask; what the hell is going on between you and Red?"

"Tony…"

"No, don't 'Tony' me. You guys share a room now…"

"We shared a room before all this," Steve interjected, but Tony continued as if the blond hadn't said anything.

"You guys are always together, she wears your clothes all the time and you took quite the few blows for her during the last battle with Thanos. That's more than just friendship and even you have to recognize that."

Steve sighed but wouldn't say anything much to Tony's annoyance.

"Cap you don't have to say anything, but Nat's my friend too and I care about her—though I will deny it if asked. Just don't hurt her, I know you had feelings for Peggy and her death hit you hard, but Little Red deserves some happiness in her life."

With that said Tony turned and left the nursery for what was probably the first time since Nicole had been born.

"He's right you know? Whatever deal you guys have got going on, it went past _just friends_ a couple of miles ago," Clint's voice came from the doorway.

Steve turned and glared at the archer, "Clint…"

Clint held up his hand silencing his Captain, "Cap I'm not saying anything, I don't disapprove in fact quite the opposite you're probably the best guys for her. So do me a favor, tell her you love her and remember I have an arrow with your name on it."

Hours later, Steve was in his suite with Natasha both of them ready for bed.

"So Tony finally told you," she said softly once he'd gotten in his side of the bed and she'd snuggled up against him.

"Why am I not surprised that you knew?"

"Because you know me well enough by now."

"I do," Steve said and tightened his hold on her.

"What's wrong?"

"Tony told me about the nightmares he's been having."

"The ones about Thanos and Nicky?"

"How'd you know?"

Natasha rolled her eyes at him, "Pepper. She could hear him getting up at night and he mumbled a couple times while he was sleeping."

"Can't keep anything from her, huh? She would've made a good spy."

Natasha laughed, "Probably. Not better than me though."

Steve laughed at her but then sobered and tightened his arms around the redhead again, "I had nightmares like those some nights."

Natasha looked up at him with a frown and Steve sighed.

"When you got hurt saving Sam and Bucky, we didn't know if you were gonna make it Nat. If it hadn't been for Wanda, you _wouldn't_ have made it. I was so scared of losing you."

"Steve," she said softly.

"I love you," he interrupted and she sucked in a large breath.

"You can't," came her immediate protest.

"Why not? Because you can't give me children? Because of the red in your ledger? None of that matters, Nat," he said sincerely as he caressed her cheek gently.

"Of course it matters. You should be with someone who's as good as you, with someone who can give you a family," she said, her eyes shinning with tears she refused to let fall.

"Nat, I love you and only you. You are good, you're a good person; the red in your ledger isn't yours. And I have a family, that's what all of you have become. I can't ask for more than that, I don't want more than that if it means I can't have you."

Natasha opened her mouth to protest but Steve kissed her instead, gentle and soft trying to not overwhelm her with his strength but hoping she wouldn't push him away. Natasha did not instead she pulled him to her, kissing him harder saying with that kiss what she couldn't say out loud. When they pulled apart they were breathing heavily.

"I love you and that's not going to change," Steve said, kissing her forehead and pressing her closer to his body. He knew it would take time and many more days and nights before he could convince her that her love was all he wanted, but with Thanos gone—and the world temporarily at peace—time was all they had. He was going to make her believe she deserved his love whatever the cost.

AN:

 **So this one began as a one-shot that was supposed to have only Tony and Steve talking in the nursery but then my friend read it and wanted more. She's also the one who wanted me to hurry up and write one nightmare/chapter set after Civil War so… the chapter's for her. Thanks to everyone who has favorited/followed this story. If you can let me know if you liked it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: MARVEL is still the owner.**

 **One-shot #4**

Sam woke with a start, sweat sticking to his skin like the memories of the nightmare he'd just woken up from stuck to his mind. This wasn't the first time he'd been woken up because of memories of his time in the war. It wouldn't be the last time he'd be haunted by the memory of his failure to save his best friend. Sam sighed and moved from the bed, he figured there was no way he was sleeping anymore that night. He made his way to the communal kitchen not expecting to see anyone else but was surprised when he saw Maria sitting at the breakfast bar.

"What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Maria said.

" it was a better idea if I just…"

"Gotcha. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now. I'm more interested in knowing what's up with you."

Maria sighed, "Nothing, just," she shrugged, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do anymore."

"With what?"

"My life. I mean, there's no SHIELD, no more Avengers, working at Stark Industries was just a way for me to still help you guys do what you needed to do and now… Now I'm here, in hiding with all of you."

"I figured this wouldn't be easy for you."

Maria laughed, "That's an understatement."

"You and Natasha are so much alike it's scary."

"I'll take that as a compliment although you probably didn't mean it that way."

Sam chuckled, "Oh I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"I know, I was messing with you. Speaking of, ready to tell me about the nightmare?"

Sam sighed, "It was the same as always."

"Riley?" She asked softly.

"Right on one," Sam confirmed as he took two beers out of the fridge and passed her one.

"Thanks."

"Riley was my friend and I let him down when it mattered the most."

"Sam," Maria said placing a hand on his shoulder, "somethings we can't stop, no matter how much we want to."

"I know, but it doesn't really help with the guilt. The nightmares were getting easier to deal with, but what happened with Rhodey…"

"Brought it all back?"

"Yeah," he said, taking a long swig of his beer, "it was the same scenario, I was up there and I could see him falling but I couldn't get there in time. I mean, what good am I if I couldn't even save my teammates? Should I really be out there trying to save the world?"

"Sam…"

"No, Maria," he said and shrugged her hand off his arm, "there's nothing that can fix this. I screwed up, I moved out of the way and now Rhodey is suffering for it."

Maria moved after him and hugged Sam where he was slumping against the wall, "I know there's nothing I can say that'll fix this," she said softy. "But what happened wasn't your fault, it was fight and people get hurt in fights and that's something we all have learned to accept. Rhodey isn't well now, but he will be in time. And you can't blame yourself for Riley, the way I understand it nothing that you could've done would have saved him. It was his time. We do what we do to save people, but we have to accept it when some of them die because if not… If we don't accept that, our lives are gonna go to hell."

Sam relaxed in her arms as she finished talking, but she could feel him shaking and his tears were soaking her shirt, "I should have saved them."

"Shhh," Maria shushed him gently. "You did your best and with time Rhodey will get better."

After some more tears, Sam took a deep breath and pushed her away gently, "Thanks and I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you."

Maria smiled, "Don't be. We're friends, I'm here for you particularly while Steve is away with Nat and Clint."

"Shit, I forgot, did they get Barton's family out?"

"Yeah, got a text about twenty minutes before you came out here. They're on their way, Laura and the kids were fine."

"That's good."

Maria grinned, "Yeah, it is."

"Think any of us will be able to have something like that one day?"

"Maybe, maybe one day when the world doesn't need us anymore."

"You think it still needs us?"

Maria nodded, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the world still needs the Avengers and once Tony gets his head out of his ass, he'll see that. Until then, I guess we'll continue saving the world from here."

"Well, here doesn't sound so bad, as long as you stay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed putting his arm around her shoulders and looking out the window at the rising sun. Sure life was confusing, but it was a little less confusing when you had friends there with you.

AN:

 **Thank you all for the reviews and the follows and favorites. I really hope you're enjoying this.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Only own the plot.**

 **One-shot #5**

Natasha is startled from sleep by a scream and before she's completely awake she's made her way outside and across the hallway. She barges through the half open door of the little girl's room. Lila is in her bed, tears running down her cheeks. Laura enters the room a minute later, but the redheaded spy already has her arms around her 6 year old daughter.

"What's wrong?" Laura asks and Natasha is surprised that the woman still sounds so controlled with everything that is going on.

"Mommy," Lila calls from the bed, reaching out with one of her arms toward her mother.

Laura moves to the bed quickly her arms also closing around the small frame of her only daughter. The woman closes her eyes and relishes in having her child close, right now with Clint having been made in an Op she feels like her world is out of balance.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

Lila is crying hard enough that her voice trembles when she talks, "I… I had a dream that daddy wasn't coming home. What if… what if he doesn't come home?"

Laura and Natasha share a look, they hadn't realized the older kids had been listening when the spy had arrived at the farm to personally tell Laura the bad news. By the time they'd seen Lila and Cooper, it was too late and they'd found out in possibly the worst way about their father being taken captive. All through the afternoon they'd had to deal with two nervous kids although they had been somewhat comforted by the fact that their uncle Steve and uncle Tony were going to Russia to get their daddy out. Natasha had wanted to be in that mission, but Steve and Wanda had convinced her that it was a better idea if she stayed with Laura and the kids. The spy had agreed leaving Tony, Steve and the new team to handle getting Clint back.

"Lila, your uncle Steve and uncle Tony are going to get him back. Your daddy's tough, he'll make it through this."

"How do you know?" Lila asked her mom.

"Lila, sweetie, your mom's right. Uncle Steve and uncle Tony are going to do everything the can to get him back. And she knows that your daddy can pull through this because it's not the first time he's ever been captured."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Lila, we can't promise you that daddy will come back, but do you trust uncle Steve?"

The little girl nodded.

"Then you have to trust that he won't stop until he gets daddy out of trouble. You know how stubborn your uncles are, and your dad is no slouch either. They'll do everything they can to get back."

Natasha's phone started ringing from her room and she rushed out to get it.

"I'm sorry for screaming and crying mommy," Lila said.

"You don't have to be sorry, you had a nightmare."

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be brave when daddy isn't home."

Laura smiled softly, "Honey, bravery isn't not being afraid, because everyone is afraid every once in a while. I mean even your dad and auntie Nat have nightmares."

Lila smiled sadly and hugged her mother tighter just as Natasha came through the door, her phone in hand, "Lila, someone's on the phone for you."

Natasha handed the little girl her phone and smiled at Laura. "Daddy?" Lila's voice sounded in both awe and relief.

Laura smiled at Natasha and moved from the bed to her friend's side, "They got him out?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone ok?"

"Clint has some cuts and bruises. Steve took a bullet and Tony's armor is a little worse for wear. He'll be bitching about that for weeks, but they're on their way back."

Laura sighed with relief, "Thank God."

Natasha smiled, "Told you they'd be fine."

"You call taking a bullet 'fine'?"

The spy rolled her eyes, "For Steve, getting only one bullet is a victory. I swear sometimes he doesn't even stop to think before he gets into situations that could end up badly for him."

"I don't know, you're complaining but I know for a fact you'll enjoy playing nurse for him. You ever think that maybe _that's_ why he keeps getting hurt?"

Natasha laughed at what Laura implied, but didn't say anything. It was nice to know everything was back to normal, or as normal as any of their lives were. Sure danger was around every corner but they knew that together they could defeat anything, and after the War the team was closer than ever.

 **AN: Thanks to every person who has read, reviewed, liked or followed this story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**One-Shot #6**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Blood soaked his hands, the smell invaded his senses. There was nothing but blood and the screams of people around him. He could feel fire as it burned close to him. His fists tightened, and the rip of cloth brought him out of the nightmare. Bucky sighed in relief even as he trembled with the memory of the dream.

"James," someone called softly and he realized that his hand was clutching something other than cloth.

He opened his hand, his horrified gaze landing on Wanda's wrist and the red mark that had already formed because of his grip, "Shit! Wanda, I'm so sorry, I didn't…"

"Hey," Wanda said softly, "it's ok. I'm alright."

"Alright? You call that alright? Wanda, I almost crushed your hand."

"It's not like you did it on purpose. You were having a nightmare, a pretty bad one if judged by the state of the sheets."

It was true, the nightmare had been bad enough for him to have ripped the bedsheets. The dream was a recurring one, he kept remembering his time as the Winter Soldier and it seemed that no matter how much time passed, his subconscious would not let him forget.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wanda asked as she sat next to him on the bed.

He scooted away from her, still wary of causing her further injury. The young brunette rolled her eyes, "Seriously? Stop doing that, I don't blame you. We all lash out in our sleep so just forget it, I'll be fine by tomorrow."

Bucky sighed, but moved closer to her, "I'm sorry, just… I hate seeing you in pain."

"Well, I hate seeing you in pain as well. So, can you please stop torturing yourself?"

"I'll try."

"That's all I can ask. Now, since I suppose you _don't_ want to talk about your dream, can you tell me where Steve is? I can't find him anywhere."

"He's supposed to be in the gym, Nat asked him to spar with her."

Wanda frowned, "Well unless we got another gym overnight, he's not there."

"Maybe they got called out for a mission."

"They didn't, I checked with Maria and they haven't been called for anything."

"Did you ask her if she'd seen him?" Wanda leveled him with a look that suggested his neurons had melted and he winced, "Ok, so you asked her."

"Yeah."

"Well did you ask Natasha?"

"She's also nowhere to be found. And before you suggest it, I already went to her room, there was no answer. I also asked Sharon and Sam and they know nothing about Steve or Nat."

"That's unusual."

"Yup. Although not as unusual as of late, or haven't you noticed?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the habit that they're getting of disappearing together."

Bucky frowned, but when he thought about it, he had to admit Wanda was telling the truth. Ever since he'd woken up from the cryo sleep he'd noticed Steve and Natasha had a tendency to always be together.

"Huh…"

Wanda giggled at the face he made, "Yeah, huh. Aren't you curious what they're up to? I mean, have you noticed how they behave when the other gets hurt? It's adorable."

"It's not adorable."

"Sure it is, I mean Nat gets all annoyed at Steve for getting hurt, but Laura and I have noticed she loves playing nurse for him."

The soldier shook his head, "What are you trying to say?"

Wanda rolled her eyes, "I just wanna know if Steve's told you anything about his feelings for Nat."

Bucky chuckled, "He doesn't have to, Stevie's my best friend. It may have been a while and we may have gone through hell but I can still read him."

"Think he's going to tell her sometime soon?"

"Doubt it, he's a punk like that. He'll wait until he thinks she's ready, except that judging by Natalia's reaction to that senator's daughter flirting with Steve the other day, I'd say she's on the same page as him."

A laugh sounded from the direction of the hallway and the two fell silent, watching through the half open door as Natasha and Steve walked down the hall. The two were messing around as they were wont to do more often than not these days. Neither of the two noticed Bucky's half open door or the fact that they were being observed. A minute later they heard Steve's door open and close.

"There's definitely something going on," Wanda told Bucky with a smirk after about two minutes of them hearing no other door open.

Bucky rolled his eyes, "Maybe."

Wanda gave him a look and he smiled, "Ok, you win, there's definitely something going on between those two."

"Wanna bet on who'll tell the other first?"

"That wouldn't be a fair bet, but I'll take it easy money and all that."

Wanda pushed him lightly, "Who said we're betting money?"

"Oh," Bucky asked intrigued, "then what are we betting?"

"I say Nat will cave first _and_ if I win, which I will, you'll be going with me to get my favorite ice cream."

"Ok, fair enough. But I know for a fact that Steve will cave first, especially if Dr. Banner comes back into the picture. So, I'll win."

"And what will I owe you if you win?"

"A date and maybe a kiss at the end if you want."

Wanda smiled at him softly, "You know, you could have just asked."

Bucky's laugh was cut short as Wanda's lips fell gently on his. She kissed him softly, tentatively but he deepened the kiss, running his hand through her silky hair. They broke away after what felt like an eternity and Bucky kissed her forehead, "I know now."

Wanda smiled and snuggled up to him, they talked softly about anything and everything until they fell asleep on top of the covers.

 **AN: Again thank you everyone. I hope you continue to like this story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**One-Shot #7**

 **Everything belongs to MARVEL**

"Nat," was the scream that jolted Natasha out of sleep. Beside her, Steve was tossing and turning in bed, his hands fisting in the sheets.

"Steve," she tried to wake him up, but without touching him. She'd learned early on that, like her, it was never a good idea to touch Steve while he was in the middle of a nightmare.

"No, don't touch her."

"Steve, please wake up," she kept trying, hating to hear his cries. She knew what he was dreaming about, it was the final battle with Thanos. "Steve!"

The soldier sat up in bed breathing hard and Natasha breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the recognition of his surroundings in his eyes. Natasha threw herself into his arms, still shaken from the difficulty she'd had in waking him.

"Shit, I keep having that dream, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," she said, her breath caressing the sensitive skin of his neck.

"I do, Nat. My nightmares are keeping you awake."

"And I don't mind."

"You don't but I do. Nat, this is the fourth time this week I've woken you up because of this dream."

"Steve, I don't care. We're all haunted by what we went through, you've been strong for all of us, you've been there for all of us, it's time we were there for you."

"Yeah, but you have your own nightmares to go through. You should be able to sleep when you aren't having dreams instead of being woken up by me."

Natasha caressed Steve's cheek gently, "Steve, I don't mind. I'd rather be here than somewhere else knowing that you're here having nightmares and waking up alone."

"Nat…"

"No!" She interrupted, "I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not going to sleep somewhere else and I want you to stop trying to convince me to do that."

Steve sighed, "You're so stubborn."

"So are you."

He chuckled and squeezed her harder, "I was scared, scared to lose you, Wanda, and the others. That's what I keep seeing in my mind. Every time I close my eyes, I see the same thing."

"But you didn't lose us."

"No but I came damn close."

"Steve…"

"I know, I know that's in the past, but there's always another threat out there, Nat. There's always some crisis waiting to take you all away from me, and I don't know if I could go through that again. I don't know if I can lose everything and keep going."

Natasha sighed softly but sat up to look into his blue eyes, "You think we don't all feel the same? Stark has nightmares, you know that, and so does Wanda, and so does Bucky, and so do I. We were all terrified during the war with Thanos, but we can't let that keep affecting us. I can't promise I'll never leave you, just like you couldn't promise _me_ that back when we were fighting him. But I _can_ promise to try my damn hardest to stay with you. I'd miss you too much if I were to go."

Steve smiled and kissed her, a soft press of his lips against hers, "You're right, why are you always right? And why am I not used to it by now?"

Natasha smirked, "I've got no idea. You should know this by now."

He chuckled, "I should. And I want to promise (again) that I'll also try my damn hardest to stay with you."

The two snuggled back down into the pillows, knowing that for the rest of the night their sleep would be peaceful. Sure the world would still try and separate them, from each other and from the family they had built with the other Avengers, but they knew they would fight the world to their very last breath to keep that from happening.

 **Hope you guys like it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**One-Shot #8**

 **Disclaimer: The Avengers all belong to MARVEL**

"You ready to talk about it or are you going to keep pretending like everything's fine?"

"What do you mean?"

Bucky raised an eyebrow at Steve, "You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm pretty sure I don't."

"Oh so that's how you wanna play it? You're going to pretend like nothing is wrong all day long and then have nightmares all night?"

"Bucky," Steve groaned, tired of everyone trying to get him to talk. "If something were wrong you would know."

"Steve…"

"No, James," the blond soldier interrupted, "just leave me alone. I'm tired of all of you trying to get me to talk like there's anything to talk about."

Steve left the room, not giving his friend a chance to say anything else. James groaned and ran a hand frustratedly through his hair. He knew his friend and he knew something was wrong. Something had been wrong ever since Steve had failed to stop Natasha's capture by the government back when they were still in the middle of their 'Civil War'. Bucky had still been in cryo back then, but the minute he'd come out he could tell something was wrong. Eventually Natasha had managed to escape from Ross and his goons and had met with them in Wakanda, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the time the Russian had spent captured hadn't been easy on her.

"What's wrong?" Wanda's soft voice asked from somewhere to his left.

He sighed, "Steve."

"You tried to get him to talk," she said as if stating a fact.

"It would do him good to talk about it. He keeps preaching that to all of us, maybe it's time he followed his own advice."

"Maybe you should give him some space."

"If we give him anymore space, we'll have to move to the moon."

Wanda giggled, "James, you have to understand he's gotten used to being the strong one…"

"I know that, but it's time he stopped pretending that nothing ever gets to him. He's hurting from Peggy's death, he feels guilty because of what happened to me, he's guilty about breaking up the team, and now this thing with Natasha. It's a lot for just one person, don't you think?"

She looked at him sadly, "Pressuring him isn't going to get you anywhere, he'll just walk away. He's gotten awfully good at that as of late."

"Don't I know it, the only one he doesn't run away from is Natasha and she's almost as bad at talking about her problems as he is."

"I'll try to talk to him, but I don't promise anything."

"Thanks, doll."

Wanda blushed at the term of endearment before shyly kissing his cheek and leaving to look for Steve. She found him sitting outside, taking in the view of the Wakandan forest from one of the many balconies the palace had to offer. The young sorceress moved toward him slowly, but her footsteps were easy enough to be picked on by his superior senses. She was giving him a way out of the talk they were about to have and from the tension that was suddenly in his shoulders, he knew what she was up to. Despite that she continued moving until she reached his side and placed her hand tentatively on his bicep.

"Can we talk?" She asked softly.

Steve sighed but nodded although he did not move to actually look at the petite brunette.

"James is worried, and so am I. Sam and Clint are too even if they won't say it."

"Scott isn't?" Steve tried to joke.

Wanda gave a half-hearted smile, "Well you know Scott, he's always off on his own world, plus he's worrying over his kid right now."

"Right, he can't see her because he helped me."

"He helped _us_ , don't forget we were in this as much as you were."

"And maybe you shouldn't have been," the super soldier said, his voice harsh.

"You don't mean that."

"Don't I? Wanda, I ruined your lives. All of you. I was supposed to protect you and instead I let. you get captured and thrown into prison!"

"Yeah, and then you rescued me from that prison," Wanda argued back gently.

"Wanda…"

"No, you don't get to do this. You don't get to blame yourself for everything. We were all at fault and we didn't want to see it, and in the end you were right. James was innocent. Do you think for one moment that Bucky would be here if you hadn't gone up against Stark and the government? He wouldn't, they would've declared him guilty the second they had him and let the truth be damned."

"Yeah, but look what being right cost me, cost all of us. Wanda, they put a shock collar on you. How can you even look at me without hating me?"

Wanda smiled sadly at him and pulled on his arm to get him to look at her. "Steve, you did not put that collar on me, and you did not force me to take your side in this conflict. And I can look at you because despite everything I did back with Ultron you've never been afraid of me. Because you and Natasha and Clint are like the parents that I've missed so much. I don't blame you for what happened, I blame Ross and his fear of things and people he cannot control."

"You should blame me. If I hadn't brought the rest of you in on this, nothing would've happened."

"You don't really believe that. Tony already had me under house arrest and even if I had signed the Accords I would've still ended with that collar around my neck. Like I said, Ross is afraid of what he cannot control and that fear wasn't going to end just because I wrote my name on a piece of paper."

"Maybe it would've."

"No it wouldn't have and we both know it. None of us blame you for how things went down."

"You're all insane. I mucked up everything. You guys ended up in the Raft, Natasha was captured and tortured and I couldn't do anything."

"Cap, you have to let go of some of this guilt. We're all adults, we knew the consequences of our actions. You got us into this mess and you got us out." Wanda giggled at the look Steve gave her, "Ok so maybe we're still fugitives, but we're all together and you've always said that things work out for the best when we're a team. And we are a team, but more than that we're a family and we all know that, but sometimes you seem to forget it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. We all confide in you or come to you with our problems, but you… You just bottle everything up inside and pretend like nothing is wrong. And that has to stop. Cap, you don't have to be strong all the time, lean on us. James is still not the same as back when you two were in the prime of your youth, but he's getting there. However, you keeping things from him won't help that just makes him feel like he's still damaged somehow."

Steve chuckled softly and tugged on a strand of her hair, "When did you get so wise?"

"I've always been this wise, I was just letting you shine by hiding it," she teased.

The soldier laughed and kissed the top of her hair, "I've been having nightmares about everything that has brought us here," he told her.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'. I keep seeing Bucky fall from the train, the plane, Peggy, Natasha bruised and bloodied when she arrived at the palace, you in that shock collar, but most of all I keep seeing Tony's face when he found out I'd betrayed his trust."

"There was nothing you could have done back when James fell from the train. I've seen it in his mind the times I've gone in to help him, and you were too far away. He doesn't blame you."

"Somehow that makes it worse. Bucky was always there for me, and the one time he needed me…"

"You were there. When he woke up and more or less shook off the HYDRA programming you were there to help him. That's what counts. You were also there to keep him from being unfairly convicted of a crime he did not commit."

"You're making it sound like nothing of what has happened was my fault."

"Maybe because it wasn't. Except, why didn't you tell Stark about James and his parents? And for that matter why didn't Nat?"

"At first, it honestly slipped my mind, and then it was because I didn't know how he'd take it. As for Nat, you'll have to ask her."

"So maybe the only one you should be feeling guilty with is Stark. The rest was out of your control. The government was always going to want to control us, and you wouldn't have rolled with that ever. Learn to forgive yourself, Steve and remember to let us in. I'm sorry that you can't have what once was, but we're your family as much as they were."

Steve smiled and hugged Wanda close, "I'll try but I'm not promising anything. All of you have enough to deal with without adding my own problems to the pile."

"Well, as long as you try."

"I will."

Wanda smiled brightly and kissed his cheek, moving to quickly dart back inside and to the kitchen. Her work was done, and at least Steve didn't look as burdened as before. She hoped that he really would try and confide in the rest of them more often because even a leader needed people to lean on.

"Wanda…"

"Yeah?" She asked, turning around to face the blond who had become an important figure in her life.

"Thanks."

She smiled brilliantly, "Anytime," and then disappeared back inside the cool walls of the palace.

 **AN: So I have no idea if this made any sense. Or if it's any good; I hope it is. I tried to portray Wanda and Steve's relationship as a cross between father/daughter and brother/sister but got no idea of if it actually came across that way. Please let me know what you think. And thanks to the people whom are reading, reviewing and following/favoriting the story, it means the world to me.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oneshot**

 **Disclaimer: MARVEL characters do not belong to me, I'm only taking them out for some fun.**

Fear bloomed in his chest when he saw his best friend holding on to a piece of dark blue kevlar. The tears in her eyes didn't help either. He tried to push his fears away until they found a body, there was hope.

"Nat, we have to keep looking."

The redhead looked up at him and the despair in her eyes was enough to make him kneel next to her.

"Nat," he said gently holding the spy's trembling body, "come on, we'll find them."

"What if we don't? Or what if it's too late by then? Steve and Wanda could be..."

"But they're not," Clint interrupted her firmly. "You'd know it if he was."

"Clint..."

"No, Nat! They'll be ok."

She nodded trying to make herself believe what Clint was telling her, but logically she knew that it was unlikely that Steve and Wanda would be ok.

The mission had started out as any other and they'd responded as they always did, but there had been more hostiles than initially reported. Usually they'd have handled it with no problem, but today was different. Tony was still out with a serious injury he'd received the week before, Thor was dealing with Asgard, and Bruce wasn't returning their calls. Still a city needed saving and the Avengers had gone out to confront the hostiles. The fight had escalated quickly and the the last time Natasha had seen Steve he'd been fighting, sans shield, to protect an unconscious Wanda.

Natasha would have been pissed at him for it if she hadn't known that he'd saved Clint by throwing the shield to intercept a hail of bullets meant for the archer. That had left him without the advantage of the vibranium, but the stubborn ass wouldn't move from his position-not that she would've left Wanda alone and unconscious either. The next thing any of them knew a bomb had gone off next to their position and all she found of Steve had been that piece of blue kevlar. It was like a scene right out of her nightmares.

"Anyone have a location on Rogers and Maximoff?" Sam's voice came over comms.

"Negative, we're still looking," Clint responded.

Natasha shook her head to clear it, and joined Clint in his search through the rubble.

"Avengers... respond," Maria's voice broke through the static, whatever jammers they'd had apparently no longer working.

"We read you, Hill and we have to say that's a relief," War Machine answered.

"We couldn't get through until now, we're sending in the Bus Team."

"Don't, the situation here has been neutralized. We've got some of the hostiles, but Wanda and Steve are MIA," Sam informed her.

"Understood, Falcon. I'll have a MedEvac there in 10 for when you find them."

Natasha smiled at the confidence in the other woman's voice even though she didn't share it. They kept looking, Sam from the skies using RedWing to scan for life signs underneath the rubble. War Machine and the Vision were working with the police to help civilians, since quite a few had refused to be evacuated.

"Widow," Sam's voice came urgently over comms, "I've got life signs over here, one's fainter than the other."

Natasha and Clint sprinted over to where they could see Falcon and RedWing hovering and the three started digging. Finally after what seemed like hours, Natasha glimpsed a familiar round disk. It was Steve's shield and underneath it an unconscious Captain America and Scarlett Witch. They were bloody and bruised, as if Steve had only managed to cover them with the shield at the last second, but the were breathing. Natasha fell to her knees next to them one hand on Steve's shoulder, the other on Wanda's. Dimly she heard Clint call the MedTeam to their location, but she was honestly in a daze. Relief was flooding her system at the sight of the two of them alive. She knew that now that they'd found them, the two would be okay, because the alternative was unthinkable.

The spy reluctantly moved aside once the medical personnel made it to their location and Clint wrapped her in his arms. It was only then that she realized how exhausted she was, her eyes closing of their own accord now that the adrenaline had left her system.

Clint smiled softly when he felt the redheaded spy go limp in his arms, he knew she'd been exhausted from the three back-to-back missions she'd been sent on before this one. He'd also known there was no way she would have given in to her body's demands until Steve and Wanda had been found. The archer was happier still when the MedTeam declared that both the Captain and Wanda would be fine after some stitches, oxygen, and blood were administered.

The Avengers moved toward the QuinJet, Clint carrying the sleeping Natasha and sitting down with her on his lap.

"Steve?" the sleepy spy asked when she stirred while they were flying over the Atlantic.

"He's going to be fine as is Wanda," he told her, running his hand gently through her blood red curls.

"I'm tired," she complained.

"To be expected considering your condition, little spider," he said quietly.

Natasha hummed, but didn't say anything.

"Sleep, Nat," he said gently, but unnecessarily. "You know kid," he whispered, speaking ruefully with a hand resting softly on Natasha's still flat stomach, "your parents are going to love you even more than they love each other."

Clint smiled to himself, relieved with the knowledge that his unborn niece or nephew still had both parents. He started humming gently, feeling his sister-because that's what Natasha is-relax even further in his arms, all was well with their lives at that moment.

 **AN: Sorry I'm taking so long with updates, but my university was on strike. Now we're back and working to make-up all the time we missed. I hope you guys like this one, even if it's a little different to the others. Let me know if I should keep this up. Thanks to all those who have favorited/reviewed.**


	10. Chapter 10

**One-shot**

 **Natasha finding out some news and telling Steve. Technically goes before chapter 9, but the inspiration for it came after.**

 **Disclaimer: MARVEL owns all the characters.**

"So how's it going between you and Cap?"

"It's going ok; he's over what happened during our little Civil War and he's working on putting the fears that rose because of Thanos away."

"So no more nightmares?" Pepper asked as she bounced baby Nicky in her arms.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but they're less frequent now. How about Stark?"

Pepper sighed, "Still has nightmares, he thinks I don't notice them but…"

"But it's hard not to when he's sleeping right next to you?"

"Pretty much," Pepper said.

"Steve was like that, I was like that too. We liked to pretend the other wouldn't notice the nightmares but it isn't realistic."

"I just wish he'd actually talk to me about it."

Natasha smiled sadly, "That's going to take longer. Not one of us wants to actually bother anyone with the dreams we have. I've learned to talk to Steve about it, but it's taken me forever or so it seems."

"I know…" whatever Pepper was about to say got cut off as Natasha ran from the room.

Pepper frowned and followed after the redhead to find her bent over a toilet. She frowned deeper when she heard Natasha throw up, she knew her friend's serum kept her from getting sick so whatever was causing her to throw up had to be big.

"Nat you ok?" She asked once the redhead had stopped heaving.

"I'm fine," Natasha said from her spot on the floor.

"I'm pretty sure you aren't, you're pale as hell. I'm going to call Steve."

"Don't! Please, Pepper, believe me I'll be fine."

"Nat, whatever it is that has you throwing up like this is probably bad, you know better than I do just how difficult and rare it is for you to be sick."

"I know, but I also think I know what's wrong."

Natasha got up and rinsed her mouth before moving back to the sitting room.

"What do you mean you _think_ you know what's wrong?"

"I haven't told Steve, and I was told it was impossible because of the RedRoom, but I think I'm pregnant."

"What? Nat, that's wonderful!"

Natasha smiled softly, "Yeah, but like I said, I'm not sure."

"Why don't you do a test? I can go with you to the store real quick."

"Because I'm afraid. I've wanted this for a while. It was one of the reasons I tried to keep away from Steve, and now… I just don't want to wake up from this."

Pepper hugged her softly, "I understand. But I do think you should make certain. I mean once Steve realizes you're sick, he'll go nuts."

"I know, I've been lucky that he, Sam and Bucky go out running before the sun has even come out."

"Let's find out."

Natasha swallowed thickly but nodded in the end.

~ Time Break ~

It took them 20 minutes to get to a drugstore, get the pregnancy test and come back to the Tower. Natasha was thankful that no paparazzi were around as she, Pepper and Nicky were making their way to and from the store.

"Nicky and I will stay with you."

"Thanks," Natasha said before making her way to the bathroom.

She felt a little silly peeing on a stick, and even sillier peeing on the other four she'd bought. The minute she was done with that, she placed them on the counter and washed her hands before exiting the bathroom. Natasha walked out into the guest bedroom to find Pepper sitting on the bed with Nicky perched at her knee.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I mean at least I'll know."

They kept quiet, Natasha was too nervous to actually talk and Pepper was contemplating just what to say if the tests weren't positive. She knew how much Natasha wanted a family and even if she'd pushed the redhead to find out for sure, she didn't want Nat to be disappointed. The two were startled when the timer went off and Natasha moved back to the bathroom.

She came back with two of the sticks and handed them to Pepper, "I'm sorry, I just… I can't look."

Pepper turned over the sticks and looked at them, letting out a soft gasp, "Nat, you are. At least according to these two tests."

"I am?"

"Yeah, you're going to be a mum."

Natasha laughed and hugged Pepper tightly.

"I can't believe it. I was told this wasn't possible."

Pepper smiled at her redheaded friend, "You should've known that nothing is impossible when it comes to Steve Rogers and you."

"Hey, Nicky," she said, tickling the little girl's tummy, "soon you'll have a friend to play with."

Nicky squealed with laughter at her godmother's tickling making Natasha and Pepper laugh, "You'd think she understands what we're talking about."

Natasha nodded, but then went serious, "Should I tell Steve now, or wait until one of the doctors from the facility can confirm it?"

"It's your choice Nat, but I'd tell him now. I told Tony before a doctor confirmed it, made more sense to have him with me in case I went in and was told it was a false alarm."

"I just don't want to get his hopes up for nothing."

"Do you want to go up to the facility now and get tested? We'd probably get the results before the guys come back from their meeting."

Natasha hesitated before shaking her head, "Thanks, but… You were right, I want to tell him first."

"I understand and they'll be back in about 5 hours, so you won't have to wait long. So, out of curiosity, how long have you been having morning sickness?"

"A few weeks, at first I thought it was a stomach bug or something, but…"

"It refused to go away?"

"Pretty much."

Pepper kept Natasha company until the boys arrived from their meeting in Washington. They had good news about the government's renewed interest in the activity of the Avengers.

"How was your day?" Steve asked Natasha.

She smiled at him, "It was ok. Spending time with my goddaughter is always nice."

"I wish I had gotten to spend the day here instead of Washington."

Natasha laughed, "Politicians have always been more your thing than mine."

"Right. Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Although there's something I have to tell you," she said.

"Is anything wrong?" Steve asked immediately concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured, noticing how Pepper had gotten everyone else to move into the kitchen. "I just… I think I'm pregnant. I've been sick for a few days, and Pepper had me do a home test and…"

Steve's lips crashing down on hers stopped the redhead's rambling and she melted into him. He kissed her breathless before pulling away and softly resting his hand on her flat abdomen.

Natasha smiled at him and put her hand over Steve's, "I have to go to the facility to get it confirmed by a doctor, but I wanted to tell you first."

"I understand, and I'm glad you told me. We'll visit medical the minute we get back to the facility."

The redheaded spy smiled and kissed his lips lightly before pulling him toward the rest of their friends.

 **AN:** Sorry for the delay, but college is still killing me. Although I only have a few more days left of class and then I can hopefully update more regularly. I hope you guys like this, it was inspired by one of my friends who recently discovered she's pregnant. Thanks to all those who read, review, follow and favorite.


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